Grinding wheel cooling device



May 22, 1956 THOMAS 2,746,220

GRINDING WHEEL COOLING DEVICE Filed Aug. 28, 1953 M N VEN TOR grail}:720mb,

United States Patent GRINDING WHEEL COOLING DEVICE Emil Leonard Thomas,Lorain, Ghio Application August 28, 1953, Serial No. 377,188

3 Claims. (Cl. 51266) This invention relates to grinding wheels, andmore particularly has reference to means for cooling wheels of the typehaving thereon a composition having diamond bort as one of its mainmaterials.

Diamond wheels generally fall into two main categories, namely, cup ordish wheels, and straight wheels. The type first named is the morecommon, both being widely used, and one difliculty which has beenexperienced in the use of both types of wheels resides in the problem ofcooling the same. Wheels of this type tend to become very hot duringuse, and it is well known in the art that the heat factor prevents thecontinuous use of the diamond wheels over a lengthy period of time, thusdetracting materially from the efiiciency of said wheels. Further, theheat factor is one that affects adversely the preservation of diamondwheels, cutting down to an appreciable extent the ordinary life of awheel of this nature.

The problem is a serious one in the art, in view of the fact that thereis a continuing scarcity of diamond bort, used in the manufacture ofdiamond charged wheels, and in view of this scarcity, it has become thepractice, in many instances, to construct the grinding wheels ofreclaimed diamond dust. Wheels so manufactured do not represent asatisfactory solution of the problem, however, since they are notpossessed of the durability of a diamond charged wheel in themanufacture of which new bort is used.

It has been proposed, comparatively recently, to employ carbon dioxidegas as a cooling means for diamond wheels, said gas being directedagainst the wheel while the same is in operation. While this method issatisfactory, it is also expensive and cumbersome in use, andaccordingly, the main object of the present invention is to providemeans carried by the wheel itself which will effectively cool the sameresponsively to the wheels own velocity.

It is recognized that it is not broadly new to employ fan blades on agrinding wheel, which fan blades will stir up air currents during therotation of the wheel, and it is not intended to claim so broad anapplication as the present invention. However, those grinding wheelcooling devices of this type of which I have knowledge have not workedwith full efficiency, so far as can be determined, and it is thereforeone important object of the present invention to provide an improvedblading arrangement for grinding wheels which will be particularlyeffective in cooling the diamond concentrate thereof, when the wheel isrotated at high speed.

Another object of importance is to provide a blading means which will beespecially adapted for use on cuptype or dished diamond wheels, thesebeing approximately frustro-conical with the diamond concentrate beingextended circumferentially of the larger end of the wheel.

Another object is to provide a blading assembly for a diamond wheelWhich will be particularly adapted, in a second form of the invention,for application to wheels of the straight or planiform type.

A further object of importance is to provide cooling ice means asdescribed which will be so designed as to efiectively cool the diamondconcentrate of the wheel, without changing materially the conventionalspecifications of diamond wheels.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the several w'ews, and wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a cup-type diamond wheel equippedwith blading formed in accordance with the present invention, viewedfrom the smaller end thereof;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken diametrically through the wheel ofFigure 1, substantially on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the wheel;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, detail sectional view taken substantially online 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the cooling blades, per se;

Figure 7 is an elevational view of a straight type grinding wheelequipped with the blading formed in accordance with the presentinvention, the blading being of a modified forrn;

Figure 8 is a sectional view on line 88 of Figure 7; and

Figure 9 is an elevational view of one of the cooling blades of Figure7, per se.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1-6, the blading has beenapplied to a cup-type or dished diamond wheel designated generally at 10and having an inner end wall 12 formed with a center opening 14 adaptedto receive a grinding wheel spindle, not shown, to which the grindingwheel would be keyed. At its periphery, the end wall 12 is integral witha frustro-conical side wall 16, flaring in a direction away from the endwall 12 to the larger end of the wheel, said larger end being whollyopen as best shown in Figure 2. At its larger end, the side wall 16 iscircumferentially thickened on its outer side to provide a grinding ring18, and on the ring there is provided a diamond concentrate 20 which isthe abrasive surface of the wheel.

Cooling blades, designated by the reference numeral 22, are spaced equaldistances apart about the circumference of the sidewall 16 as shown inFigure l. The several blades 22 are all identical to one another, andaccordingly, the description of one will sufiice for all. As will benoted, each blade is formed from a single piece of material, curvinggradually in the direction of its length, the body of the blade beingreduced progressively in width from one of .its ends to the other (seeFigure 6). Integrally formed upon the blade body, and extending the fulllength of one side edge of said body, is a lip 24, said lip beingU-shaped in cross section and being extended in the direction of theother side edge of the blade body. The lip 24 defines a conduit forcooling air, the air traveling in the direction of the arrows shown inFigure 3 during use of the device.

Formed in the ring 18 of the diamond wheel is a circumferential seriesof openings 26, these being spaced equal distances apart about thecircumference 'of the wheel, in correspondence to the spacing of theblades. The openings 26 are extended transversely of the ring 18, theopenings being in communication at their opposite ends with the oppositeside surfaces of the ring 18 onwhich the diamond concentrate 20 islocated.

The blades 22 are welded or otherwise fixedly attached to the outersurface of the frustro-conical side wall 16 of the diamond wheel, withthe wider ends of the blades being flush with the end wall 12 (Figures 2and 3). The smaller ends of the blades terminate in abutting relation tothe ring 18, the smaller end of each blade being disposed at thelocation of a cooling opening 26. Due to the gently curved shape of theblades, the blades are disposed in a spiralling arrangement about theperiphery of the diamond wheel.

The blades are so mounted upon the outer surface of the side Wall 16 ofthe wheel as to cause the larger ends of the blades to be the leadingends thereof, considering the blade mounting from the standpoint ofdirection of wheel rotation. The smaller ends of the blades are thetrailing ends, and the lips 24 are extended from the blade bodies in thedirection of wheel rotation. By reason of this arrangement, during highspeed rotation of the grinding wheel, air will be trapped between theblades, throughout the circumference of the wheel, and will enter thespaces between adjacent blades at the larger ends thereof. Thereafter,the air will be directed as shown by the arrows in Figure 3longitudinally of the blades, it being noted that the lips 24 will serveto trap the air to prevent loss thereof during its movement from end toend of the blades. Ultimately, the air will be funneled through theopenings 26, thus to cool the ring 18 and the diamond concentrate 28below which the openings 26 extend.

In Figures 7-9, a modified form of the invention is shown, that isparticularly adapted for use on straight type diamond wheels. One ofthese wheels has been shown by way of example, and has been designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 28. The wheel 28 is mounted upon aspindle 30, being secured to the spindle for rotation therewith throughthe medium of a key 32 engaged in the hub 34 of the wheel.

Extending from the hub to the wheel periphery are equidistantly spacedcooling blades 36. The blades 36 are arranged tangentially of the hub(see Figure 1), and as shown in Figure 9, are gradually diminished inwidth from their inner to their outer ends, the inner ends of thecooling blades being secured fixedly to the periphery of the hub and theouter ends of the cooling blades being secured fixedly to the rim of thewheel.

In this instance, the smaller ends of the blades, located at the wheelhub, are the leading ends, considering the construction from thestandpoint of direction of wheel rotation. The outer ends of the blades,in this connection, are connected to the wheel ring immediately behindcooling openings 38 that extend through the diamond charged abrasivesurface 40 of the ring.

In both embodiments of the invention, the construction is such as tocause the diamond wheel grinding ring to be cooled by reason of its ownvelocity, through the medium of a blading arrangement so designed as tosupply cooling air in the location at which it is most needed, namely,adjacent the diamond concentrate, where most of the heat is producedduring use of the diamond wheel.

It will be understood that the cooling blades 36 would, in a commercialembodiment of the invention, be transversely depressed or concaved, soas to cause the air to be trapped effectively thereby during rotation ofthe wheel, thus to cause the air to be channeled into the openings 38.Further, the cooling blades 36 could project beyond the respective sidesurfaces of the wheel, so as to further aid in the trapping of air forsubsequent passage of the air through the cooling openings.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confinedto the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to whichit may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles of operation and the means 4 r I presently devised tocarry out said principles, it being considered that the inventioncomprehends any minor change in construction that may be permittedwithin the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a grinding wheel, a wheel body, a grinding ring on and surroundingsaid body, said grinding ring having circumferentially spaced coolingopenings extending therethrough, a plurality of cooling blades mountedon said body, said blades having inner ends remote from said grindingring and outer ends located alongside of said openings and engaging saidgrinding ring, wherein said wheel body has a conical sidewall having asmaller inner end and a larger outer end and a peripheral surface, saidgrinding ring being around the larger outer end of the side wall andprojects radially from the side wall, said grinding ring has inner andouter sides through which said cooling openings extend, the blades beingengaged with and extending along the peripheral surface of the side walland angled relative to the axis of the wheel body.

2. In a grinding wheel, a wheel body, a grinding ring on and surroundingsaid body, said grinding ring having circumferentially spaced coolingopenings extending therethrough, a plurality of cooling blades mountedon said body, said blades having inner ends remote from said grindingring and outer ends located alongside of said openings and engaging saidgrinding ring, wherein said wheel body has a conical side wall having asmaller inner end and a larger outer end and a peripheral surface, saidgrinding ring being around the larger outer end of the side wall andprojecting radially from the side wall, said grinding ring has inner andouter sides through which said cooling openings extend, the blades beingengaged with and extending along the peripheral surface of the side walland angled relative to the axis of the wheel body, said bladescomprising flat bodies having inward longitudinal side edges engagingthe peripheral surface of the side wall and outward longitudinal sideedges having inwardly curved flanges defining air conduits.

3. In a grinding wheel, a wheel body, a grinding ring on and surroundingsaid body, said grinding ring having circumferentially spaced coolingopenings extending therethrough, a plurality of cooling blades mountedon said body, said blades having inner ends remote from said grindingring and outer ends located alongside of said openings and engaging saidgrinding ring, wherein said wheel body has a conical side wall having asmaller inner end and a larger outer end and a peripheral surface, saidgrinding ring being around the larger outer end of the side wall andprojecting radially from the side wall, said grinding ring has inner andouter sides through which said cooling openings extend, the blades beingengaged with and extending along the peripheral surface of the side walland angled relative to the axis of the wheel body, said bladescomprising flat bodies having inward longitudinal side edges engagingthe peripheral surface of the side wall and outward longitudinal sideedges having inwardly curved flanges defining air conduits, said bladebodies tapering from the smaller end of the side wall to the grindingring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS137,465 Messer Apr. 1, 1873 2,329,995 Koether Sept. 21, 1943 2,511,831Adamson June 20, 1950 2,519,275 Mollica Aug, 15, 1950 2,527,762 PrattOct. 31, 1950 2,539,844 Kingsbury Jan. 30, 1951 Mai

